Dare to Hold

by Carly Phillips

  She knew she couldn’t. She wanted to feel his hot skin on hers. She grasped his shirt and pulled up at the hem, sliding her hands up his abdomen, feeling the hard muscles beneath her fingertips.

  He broke the kiss and pulled in a ragged breath, giving Meg the opportunity to take over. She reached for the button on his jeans, popping it open and yanking down. He attempted to grasp her wrists and stop her, but she was faster, and she wriggled the denim over his lean hips. With a grunt of acceptance, he helped, and the denim pooled around his ankles. His cock sprang up before her, thick and hard, ready for anything.

  She grinned and lowered herself to her knees. This wasn’t an act she normally enjoyed, but something about Scott and how well he treated her made her want to give to him in return. And shockingly, the idea of going down on him made her mouth water and her sex ache with need.

  “Damn, baby. Do you have any idea what it does to me to see you on your knees like that?”

  She glanced up at him, suddenly shy. But if she had any reservations, they disappeared when she caught a glimpse of the heat in his gaze and the look of reverence in his expression as he gazed down at her. Leaning forward, she licked his erection gently at first, a long, teasing stroke of her tongue over his thickening shaft. He pulled her hair into one hand behind her and tugged hard.

  The small hint of pain caused a surprising shock of arousal to spread from her scalp to her pussy. She moaned and grasped his erection in her hand. She eased her mouth around him, taking him as far as she could before sliding back the other direction. She wasn’t an expert, didn’t know what he liked, but she did recognize his growl as one of approval. And the hip thrust that pushed him deeper into her mouth definitely told her she was doing things right.

  She slid her hand up and down, using the lubrication from her mouth to ease her way. Being Scott, he soon was driving the action, pumping into her mouth with long, fluid strokes. To her surprise, giving him pleasure provided her with even greater satisfaction than she’d ever imagined.

  He grunted above her, his hand a steady presence in her hair, every tug causing a wave of desire to wash over her. She moaned, the sound reverberating around him, and he thrust hard, the head of his cock hitting the back of her throat.

  She fought not to gag and managed to breathe through, taking him even deeper.

  “Damn, Meg, you feel so good.”

  So did he. She loved the taste of him, slightly musky, a little salty, and so very male. The idea of taking him all the way was a heady thing.

  She worked him with her hand and mouth until suddenly he pulled himself out completely. “Not coming in your mouth, baby.”

  He stripped her out of her shorts and panties, leaving them in a pile on the living room floor. And wasn’t that hot, she thought, as he picked her up and carried her to the bedroom with long, deliberate strides.

  By the time he set her on the bed, she was panting with need.

  “As much as I want to taste you,” he said, positioning her on the center of the mattress, “I need to be inside you more.”

  He eased his hips back and pushed into her with ease. She was so wet and ready he filled her completely in one long thrust, hitting her sweet spot immediately.

  She arched her back and moaned, feeling the thickness of him everywhere, and her climb toward climax began almost instantly. She wondered if it was the hormones running through her body or whether it was being with Scott, but either way, she’d never been so sensitive or felt so much so quickly. And she wasn’t talking just physically. Pushing those terrifying thoughts aside, she focused on the here and now, on the large man who owned her body when he was buried inside her.

  “I love being inside you, baby.” Scott groaned as she clasped him tighter in her hot body.

  From the minute she’d wrapped her sweet mouth around his cock, Scott had needed more, and coming in her mouth hadn’t been an option.

  “Lift your legs,” he instructed in a rough voice.

  She complied, her long legs wrapping around his waist, and she pulled him farther into her heat. Using his upper body for leverage, he took a long glide out before plunging back in, hard and fast. Her slick walls gripped him tighter, her heels dug into his back, and he fucking felt her everywhere.

  Sweat broke out on his forehead and back as desire and the primal need to own her washed over him. He took her hard, knowing she could handle it, understanding that she wanted him as much and as badly as he needed her.

  They strove toward climax together, her nails digging into his back as she arched and ground against him. Physically, it was fast and furious, but at the core, there was something stronger pushing at him from his subconscious, an emotional connection he’d never experienced before, during or outside of sex. He knew what it was, even as he understood it was too soon, too fast. Even as it scared him.

  And then her climax hit, and she screamed his name, shuddering around him, her sex clasping his cock in warmth and heat, and he came hard, emptying himself inside her and thankfully shutting down every other part of him, especially the emotions rampaging through his brain.

  He became aware of her heavy breathing beneath him and rolled over, so as not to crush her.

  She turned her head and met his gaze, a flush staining her cheeks. “That was … hot,” she said, a grin on her face.

  “That you are, baby.”

  She closed her eyes and obviously focused on slowing her breathing. “I don’t, that is…” She stammered over her words. “It has to be the pregnancy hormones,” she muttered finally.

  He knew exactly what she was referring to. “It’s not the hormones,” he said, disgruntled. He’d had enough sex—he’d even had sex with his pregnant ex—to know better. Nothing he’d ever experienced came close to Scott and Meg together.

  He reached for her, pulling her on top of him. “This,” he said, punctuating the word by rolling his cock against her sex, “isn’t just random fucking hormones.”

  Her eyes opened wide. She was surprised either by his harsh tone or his body’s already thickening response. That sure as hell shocked him.

  “I didn’t mean—”

  “Yeah, you did.” He crushed his mouth against hers, plowing his tongue inside and claiming her in the most primitive way possible. When he pulled back, he pressed her head into his shoulder and closed his eyes, both startled and alarmed by his primitive response to her trying to brush off something he’d never ever felt before.

  They lay in silence, her breasts crushed to his chest and her warm breath on his cheek.

  “Scott?” She wriggled free, and he let her roll off him.

  “Hmm?”

  “This is really scary,” she whispered.

  His heart cracked a little bit at her admission.

  “One minute I was pregnant and alone, dealing with a huge upcoming life change and an asshole ex, knowing I had to step up as the sole adult and take charge. And the next I have you barging in like some white knight, taking over.”

  He met her gaze, keeping one arm around her waist. “It’s overwhelming for me too.”

  Surprise flickered in her dark eyes.

  “But us—we’re a good thing. You’re not in this alone anymore.” And he meant it. He was falling hard and fast for her, and he wasn’t going to fight something that felt so right.

  A tear fell, and he caught it with his fingertip. “Hey. What is it?”

  She met his gaze. “I don’t understand what you’re doing with me,” she said honestly. “And that’s not putting myself down or even short-changing myself. It’s a fact. But it’s also a fact that I’m grateful you’re here, and I’m not strong enough to turn you away.”

  “Good. Because you’d have a real fight on your hands. Some things are just meant to be.”

  “And in my experience, fairy tales don’t come true.”

  He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Don’t think too hard, okay?” Lord knew he was trying not to.

  She sniffed and nodded. “I’ll try.�
�

  “Good. Are you tired?” he asked.

  “Beyond.”

  “Then let’s get some sleep.”

  * * *

  Monday morning came way too fast. Scott stayed the weekend, and Meg couldn’t remember the last time she’d enjoyed just hanging around and relaxing quite so much. He liked action movies and so did she, which meant they were able to agree on what to watch. They viewed The Expendables on Netflix, so he got his action, and she got her fill of Jason Statham, and moved on to the Taken series, which she’d missed in theaters. Liam Neeson certainly wasn’t hard on the eyes either.

  Before she left for work, Scott reminded her that Rick would be following her to school and waiting in the parking lot just in case her ex decided to make an appearance. Scott was heading over to his brother’s so they could hammer out business details and talk to a lawyer to make his partnership and ownership of Double Down Security official.

  He left her with a kiss and, “Have a good day, baby.”

  Her heart fluttered at that, and she set out for work. Maybe because her mood was good, the kids were on their best behavior and the morning flew by. When she sent them off to the music teacher for half an hour, she headed back to her classroom for a brief break but didn’t get much time before the intercom sounded in her room. Allie asked her to come to the office, and Meg headed down the long hallway lined with children’s artwork on various class bulletin boards before arriving at the office.

  Allie’s desk was directly in front of the doorway. “Hi,” she said to her friend.

  “Hi.” Allie smiled but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Meg, these people would like to speak with you.” She gestured to an elegant blonde with a classic bob hairstyle and light makeup, wearing a dressy pants suit. By her side was a gentleman with graying hair and a well-fitting suit.

  Meg didn’t know them, and if they’d been the parents of her students, she would have. In a shocking change of pace, they’d all shown up for parent-teacher night. She didn’t recognize either of these people.

  “Ms. Thompson?” the man asked.

  Meg nodded warily. “How can I help you?”

  The woman stepped closer and spoke in a low tone. “I’m Lydia Ashton and this is my husband, Walter.”

  “Ashton? As in Mike Ashton?” Meg asked, as lights began to flicker in front of her eyes. She was suddenly dizzy. She reached for the wall behind her, seeking support.

  The woman gave her a slight nod. “We’re Mike’s parents.”

  Meg drew a forced breath. She wasn’t about to have a conversation with them here, where, heaven forbid, the principal could overhear. He was already upset with her pregnant single mother status. She had no desire for him to find her having personal meetings during school time.

  Meg pulled herself up to her full height. “Let’s go talk somewhere private. I only have another twenty minutes before my students return.” She led them away from Allie’s curious stare to a quiet part of the hallway where no classrooms were located. “Why are you here? What do you want?” Meg asked.

  “Mike tells us you refuse to see him,” his mother said.

  Rick, her bodyguard, sat in his car, watching for Mike, who, thanks to online photos, he’d recognize on sight. Were his parents here because he couldn’t show up himself?

  Meg curled her hands into fists. “I have a restraining order against him, which means I don’t have to see him. And he’s already violated that order once. If the police catch him near me, they’ll arrest him.” Meg’s legs shook, and she leaned against the wall to steady herself.

  “Yes, that is unfortunate. My son is … a disappointment, to say the least.”

  Meg’s eyes opened wide at that unexpected statement.

  “That’s why we’re here. We”—the older woman pointed between herself and her husband—“want to know we’ll be able to see our grandchild.”

  Meg shook her head in disbelief. “You do realize, when I told your son he was going to be a father, he questioned paternity,” she said, still offended by his insinuation. “I’m happy to take any damned test. It’s his. He was furious and he pushed me, hard. I fell and nearly lost the baby.” She swallowed hard. “Your son is an abuser.”

  Her voice cracked, and she rested her hands on her stomach. “All I want is for Mike to sign away his parental rights. My lawyer sent him the papers, and based on his initial reaction, I don’t understand why he hasn’t done it already.”

  A terrifying thought occurred to her as she stared at the couple. “Has he changed his mind? Because I don’t want him anywhere near me or my child.”

  A surprising look of regret and compassion passed over the other woman’s face. “As I said, Mike is a disappointment. He isn’t interested in being a father.”

  “Then why won’t he sign the papers?” Meg asked.

  Lydia Ashton turned, and a look passed between her and her husband, one Meg couldn’t begin to decipher. “We don’t know why Mike behaves the way he does,” she said when she turned back to Meg. “He was always a trying child. He tested us at every turn, and when he found alcohol, we lost all semblance of control.”

  “You threw him out,” Meg said, repeating what Mike had told her.

  The other woman winced. “More than once, hoping he’d hit rock bottom and want help.”

  “But he kept finding unwitting people to see the best in him and take him in,” Walter said, speaking up for the first time.

  “Like me.” Meg shook her head.

  “Don’t be hard on yourself. We know how charming he can be.”

  Meg swallowed hard. “Well, I’m sorry you drove over here for nothing. Mike knows what I want from him, and this is between him and my lawyer.”

  Lydia reached out a hand to touch Meg’s shoulder, then reconsidered. “You do realize we’re going to be this child’s family.”

  “Not if your son signs those papers.” Meg hung on to the slim hope that her ex would act on common sense. He didn’t want anything to do with her or the baby.

  “We don’t want to lose access,” Lydia warned her. “Family is very important to us.”

  And look what a wonderful job they’d done with their own son, Meg thought bitterly, but she wasn’t cruel enough to say so.

  Lydia shook her perfectly coiffed head. “We just want you to agree to let us see the baby, our grandchild. If you do, perhaps we can persuade Mike to do as you asked and sign away his rights … not ours.”

  Meg narrowed her gaze. Would they really help her cut their son out? Or was this a game of some sort?

  On the one hand, she understood where these people were coming from. She didn’t have much in the way of family, and if her baby could have good, decent people in her life besides Meg… But that was the issue, wasn’t it? She didn’t know the Ashtons at all. Except for what Mike had told her about them being too controlling. And Mike’s word wasn’t to be trusted.

  “We just want to be close to the baby. My hope is that you and I can work something out,” Lydia said softly, her tone pleading. She reached into her purse and pulled out a piece of paper with a phone number on it. “Here. Please think about it.”

  Meg accepted the paper, knowing she’d do nothing but think.

  Lydia studied her for a long moment, then inclined her head. “Thank you for seeing us.”

  If she’d had a choice, she wouldn’t have, Meg thought. But then this woman had known the element of surprise would work in her favor.

  Meg waited until she’d returned to her classroom to let her emotions free. Her shoulders dropped, and she fell into her chair, shaking. Although the Ashtons hadn’t threatened her, they’d made it clear they wanted access to her baby. She covered her stomach protectively, wondering how she could gauge the truth about them.

  Maybe Tyler’s man would uncover information that would help her decide. Her own knowledge was limited. From her early days with Mike, she knew that controlling him via the purse strings was his parents’ favorite sport. Although Meg had come to learn
Mike did nothing to support himself financially, and so he relied on his parents, making himself subject to their whims. It was a messy family dynamic. Meg didn’t want to be a pawn in their schemes. If there was a scheme. Maybe they were being honest.

  Her head began to pound. She just didn’t want her child to be drawn into an abusive or unstable environment. Meg had had enough of that herself, growing up.

  Of course, after the Ashtons’ visit, the rest of the day dragged on. Meg was preoccupied, so the whining and complaints of the children seemed exacerbated and more annoying. She kept a smile on her face and focused on the kids and her work, finally making it through to the release bell.

  She always waited until her young children’s parents came to get them. Today, two were late. She didn’t want the kids to be scared or feel lost or unwanted. By the time Meg walked out of the building, most teachers had left for the day.

  She exited and caught sight of Rick sitting in his car, watching. Just the sight of him made her feel safer.

  She blew out a breath and was about to head for her own car when her cell rang. Hoping it was Scott, she answered without looking at the caller ID.

  “Hello?”

  “You stupid bitch! What are you doing talking to my parents?” Mike’s scratchy yell caught her off guard.

  At the sound of his voice, she dropped her bag. How did he know she’d seen his parents?

  Oh God. He’d obviously been watching her somehow, and she swung around, searching for any sign of him in the few vehicles remaining in the parking lot, without luck.

  She refocused on the call. “Mike! Just sign the papers, and I’ll be out of your life!”

  “I can’t. If I do, my parents will cut me off for good.”

  Meg closed her eyes and groaned, things becoming clearer. This was about money. Wasn’t everything in Mike’s life? Hadn’t he moved in with her when his parents had cut him off the last time?

  Meg pressed the phone to her head, trying to think things through. She was already considering granting his parents their request, assuming they turned out to be decent people. Would that satisfy Mike? Would he sign away his rights and disappear from her life?